Chapter 3

Ariana POV:

Walking out of the Enforcer Station, the late autumn wind cut straight through my thin coat. Supporting my mother, my own legs weak, I shuffled across the parking lot to our beat-up secondhand sedan.

"I told you those high-ranking Alphas are all rotten! He dumped you eight years ago, and now he's covering for a criminal!" Brenda slammed her palm on the steering wheel and started the engine.

I pressed my forehead against the cold car window, watching streetlights slide past, Kaiden's silver-gray eyes filling my mind.

"Mom, let's go to the Pack Clinic first. Gemma's waiting for us." I rubbed my temples, pushing down the sourness in my throat.

The car fell silent, only the rattling engine left.

Half an hour later, Pack Clinic. The antiseptic smell in the hallway made my empty stomach lurch.

I pushed open the ward door. Gemma Ball was curled up on the bed, her face white as paper. Tears fell the moment she saw me.

I hurried over and hugged her. "It's okay, Gemma. I won't let Darryle get away with this."

Gemma shook her head against my shoulder, her voice trembling. "Ariana, I'm sorry... Darryle targeted me because I took that mating ceremony contract for our studio..."

I froze. "What contract?"

"Kaiden Romero and your stepsister Clarine's mating ceremony." Gemma buried herself in my arms, her voice barely audible.

Kaiden POV:

The private underground fighting pit beneath the Romero estate reeked of mildew and old blood.

Under the dim overhead light, two Beta guards pinned Darryle to the bloodstained concrete floor.

"Cousin! Why did you bring me here? I'm your own cousin!" Darryle's voice shook as he watched me take off my suit jacket.

I slowly unbuttoned my cuffs and rolled my sleeves to my elbows, revealing the deep silver scars on my forearms. The warmth in my eyes was long gone.

"Cousin?" I sneered, Ariana's pale face and reddened eyes at the station flashing through my mind. The thought that Darryle might have touched her had me on the verge of snapping.

From the shadows, Josue spoke quietly. "Alpha, the Council of Elders is watching closely. If someone dies..."

"Shut up." I growled. The giant wolf inside me roared for blood, my vision staining dark gold.

I lunged and kicked Darryle in the chest. The crack of breaking ribs exploded through the underground chamber.

"Ah!" Darryle screamed, sliding several meters, coughing up blood.

I walked over and grabbed him by the collar. "Which hand touched her?"

"I didn't! That Omega—"

I didn't let him finish. I twisted his right wrist and snapped it clean. His pig-like squeals did nothing to calm the tearing violence in my head. For twenty straight minutes, the pit held nothing but dull impacts and begging, until Darryle lay in a pool of blood, barely breathing.

I took a towel from Josue and wiped the blood off my knuckles, my temples throbbing.

"Dump him in the Pack ICU. Tell the Elders he was ambushed by Rogues on the street." I ordered coldly.

"Yes, Alpha. And Miss Ariana..." Josue hesitated.

"She can never know." I rubbed my aching temples, dropped the bloody towel on the floor, and walked into the dark corridor.